Alan Kohler and RBA governor Michele Bullock have been caught up in an AI deepfake scam promoting cryptocurrency. (Supplied: ASIC)
ASIC has removed a record 19,400 scams online, up 182 per cent on the previous year.
The regulator said AI is making them harder to catch and impersonations of famous figures are on the rise.
There are growing calls for social media platforms to crack down on scammers using their platforms.
Scammers are using impersonations of celebrities, politicians and trusted public figures to promote fake investment schemes, with the corporate watchdog warning AI is making the practice increasingly common, sophisticated and harder to detect.
A report by ASIC released today has highlighted a "sharp rise" in deepfake videos, where scammers trick victims into putting money into bogus investment platforms and websites.
One of the fake articles showing ABC journalist Alan Kohler and RBA Governor Michelle Bullock. (Supplied: ASIC)
ASIC said it has removed more than 19,000 scams in the past 12 months, up 182 per cent on the previous year.
The scams usually involve AI deepfakes of well-known finance or political personalities on social media, which take victims to fake news websites as "social proof" before funnelling people to dodgy investment websites.
Among the most impersonated faces in these scams were Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, billionaire Gina Rinehart, the late broadcaster John Laws, Senator Pauline Hanson, and the ABC's own Alan Kohler.
A scam investment website that claims to offer investments into cryptocurrency and foreign stocks. (Supplied: ASIC)
The report said the scams often start as social media advertisements with a celebrity "endorsement", which takes victims to fake news articles that spruik sham investment platforms that take victims' money.
Once scammers have their details, they follow up with phone calls, 'investment opportunities' and even some small profits to build trust with their victims.
ABC News is no stranger to impersonation, with scammers concocting clickbait articles that purport to be from the public broadcaster, prompting it to publish information about the scams on its website.
A $350 million scam is targeting Australians using AI-generated images of ABC journalists and politicians.